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With this licensing deal, Avexegen will continue to advance on its strategy to develop therapies for high unmet need GI disorders.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB)March 20, 2017

Avexegen Therapeutics Inc., an innovative biotechnology company developing novel therapies for gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive global license agreement with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) for Neuregulin-4 (NRG-4) for therapies in inflammatory bowel disease including Necrotizing Enterocolitis (rare orphan disease) as well as Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

“With this licensing deal, Avexegen will continue to advance on its strategy to develop therapies for high unmet need GI disorders,” said Artin Asadourian, CEO of Avexegen Therapeutics.

Mark Frey, PhD, a principal investigator at The Saban Research Institute of CHLA, has demonstrated NRG-4 therapeutic proof of concept in preclinical models of NEC and inflammatory bowel disease. NRG-4’s efficacy is mediated by dual mechanisms that promote mucosal healing: the direct protection of the intestinal barrier and the suppression of inflammatory cytokines via its novel immunomodulatory action.

Currently, there are no FDA approved drugs for the treatment or prevention of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), which is a life-threatening disease that afflicts very low birth weight premature infants. NRG-4 has the potential to be the first such therapy for NEC.

About Avexegen Therapeutics, Inc.
Avexegen, founded in December 2014, is an emerging privately held biotech company based in San Diego, CA focused on developing novel treatments for a broad spectrum of inflammatory GI disorders. For more information please visit http://www.avexegen.com